Just The Two Of Us
by LaylaBinx
Summary: My take on how Josh and Aidan first met. Kinda angsty and does have some suicidal themes but nothing too harsh! Cute fluffy stuff toward the end! :D
1. The Intern

**Hello all! Okay, so this is my first venture into the fandom but I have to say I'm unashamedly addicted to this show! Oh my God, its sooo good! Hopefully this isn't too OOC for anyone, I'm trying to base this about a year or so before the show begins O.o This story should be about 4-5 chapters long, so be sure to let me know what you think! ^.^**

**Author's note: Just clarifying a bit because I've gotten some confused reviews lol. I know Josh is an Orderly but I'm setting this story back at least a year from the series right now and since he moved to a new hospital I'm making him start as an intern. To me it just leaves it a bit more open because if he had worked there for a while, I'm pretty sure Aidan would at least know his name O.o So that's my train of thought...odd as it is sometimes lol!**

**I own nothing!**

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There's a lot you can accomplish when you don't have to worry about aging or dying. You could travel to every country on Earth and learn to speak thirty languages fluently. You could watch the world change around you, see the passing of time, watch as each year brought something new and interesting. You could have countless lovers, friendships, relationships, and watch as they all ended the same way. Time could be your best friend and your worst enemy, it could mean everything and nothing at the same time. Time was something you tried to forget about when you realized that you had more of it than everyone else on the planet.

Aidan had done a lot since he'd been turned; hell, he'd done more in the first year than he had in his entire life leading up to it. There was a certain level of exuberant freedom that came with being immortal. All the ties of normality had been severed and he was completely free from the mortal coil known as life. He could be anyone, go anywhere, and do anything. It was paradise for a while. Still, there comes a point where normality was all he wanted, being human again and feeling like he was at least close to same plane as them. He wanted to be like them again; feel like them, die like them, be them. He wasn't, he knew it, but it helped to pretend sometimes.

He was working at a hospital again (for the second time actually); a different state, different city, different back story. He'd changed his name and his childhood so many times he couldn't really remember where the truth ended and the lies began. As far as the other nurses and doctors were concerned, he'd finished medical school at 23 and moved to Boston when he was 27. He had a glowing letter of recommendation from a hospital he'd worked at in California (no one needed to know it was from 1981) and enough references to back up his claims. The hospital administrators asked why he didn't pursue a career as a surgeon or anything that required more skill than a nurse. He was a brilliant young man, more knowledgeable than some of the nurses that had been there for three times as long as he had. They called him a prodigy. Aidan called it time; its easy to master a subject when you've been alive for almost 200 years.

He'd been drawn to medicine for years but it wasn't until recently that he'd been able to control himself enough around the bleeding, already weakened patients. It wasn't easy, he still had days when it was all he could do to literally not lick the blood up off the floor rather than finding a mop, but it was getting better. He preferred hospitals to his other jobs because it made him feel like he could make a difference, help to ease the pain and suffering he no longer felt. It also helped that there was a blood bank downstairs that provided a ready supply of blood bags he could get access to. No one really looked twice if a nurse was sent to retrieve a bag of blood so it made sneaking a few home here and there that much easier.

He'd been at this hospital for a little over two years now, long enough to become friends with some of the doctors that worked on his floor. They were nice enough, they invited him out for beers and Sunday afternoon football parties. They treated him like he was human and for now that's all Aidan could really ask for.

The older nurses loved having him around because it gave them an excuse to ogle him when he wasn't looking. There weren't many male nurses on this floor, only about three at any given time, and Aidan was definitely the most attractive. The nurses were cute and he had to admit he liked the attention so he didn't complain. One of them, a pretty redhead named Rebbecca had even begun to casually flirt with him here and there. All in all, Boston wasn't such a bad place to live; he'd definitely lived in worse cities than this. He'd stay here for about ten years and then move on to a new town and a new occupation and a new name. Ten years was usually how long it took for his coworkers to notice that he didn't eat or sleep or age or do any of the other things humans were supposed to do on a regular basis. Humans were kind of oblivious that was

There was a clatter down the hall and he was pulled from his reverie, looking up from his charts and his eyes falling on a startled intern who had just knocked over an entire cart of bedpans and a partially opened trashbag onto the floor. One of the older nurses stood above him, a look of irritation and annoyance clearly etched into her expression. The intern was scrambling to pick up the bedpans, quickly stuffing them back onto the shelves on the cart and trying to avoid her gaze.

Aidan had seen him before, popping in and out of the rooms and appearing whenever a particularly unpleasant job needed to be done. He'd been here for a couple of months now but Aidan had never really had a reason to talk to him. The nurse's usually picked a whipping boy out of every fresh batch of interns that came wandering through the hospital and this kid looked like he'd drawn the short straw in that lottery. Some of the nurse's had even started to call him Bambi (partially because he possessed a passing resemblance to the doctor from _Scrubs_ but mostly because he always had this startled, deer-in-the-headlights look). Aidan almost felt sorry for him in reality. He'd managed to skip the nurse-hazing because of his charm and good looks. He wasn't above using that to his advantage when the time called for it.

He watched from the corner of his eye as the young man finished carting the bedpans and stood quickly, brushing himself off and nearly taking the entire cart down again with his elbow. The nurse shot him another annoyed look and the intern ducked his head, turning and walking down the hall toward one of the storage closets to get a broom. Both Aidan and the nurse watched him go, though Aidan was pretty sure the nurse wasn't nearly as amused as he was. The young man reappeared a few seconds later, glancing between her and the mess on the floor before quickly beginning to sweep it up. Aidan smiled a bit and went back to his charts. Interns were always an interesting addition to the hospital staff; like a bunch of lost puppies anxious to make the big dogs proud. It was kind of cute really. If you were into that sort of thing.

**OOOOO**

The rest of his shift passed by rather uneventfully, he didn't see the intern again for the rest of the day and the incident from this morning was almost completely forgotten. Interns come and go and that one in particular was probably only a few months away from being transferred to a different floor a different hospital all together. Judging by the death glare the nurse had given him earlier, he guessed the latter was more of a possibility. He had settled himself on the fact that it was nothing he should concern himself with when he ran into the younger man on his way out the door. Literally ran into him.

Aidan was nearly to the parking garage when said intern came crashing around the corner and into his chest. He bounced off of Aidan, then the wall, and finally the floor where he landed in an awkward heap. The collision had less of an effect on Aidan, who simply stumbled back a step and looked down at the younger man in surprise. "Whoa, little late to be running around through the halls, don't you think?" He asked, leaning down to offer the intern his hand.

The younger man looked at his hand hesitantly before accepting it, bouncing to his feet in a nervous ball of energy. "Sorry...I just...Its late- I mean, I'm late! I need to get home...I need to go...I just...in a hurry..." He looked flushed, his hair sticking up in wild angles, and Aidan wasn't sure what he was late for but it must have been important to get him so worked up. He frowned, something not sitting quite right with him. Aidan could smell anxiety on him, apprehension and a bit of fear and something else, something he couldn't place. It would be silly to say it smelled inhuman but that's exactly what it brought to mind. It was an odd combination, not something he was used to smelling on anyone he worked with or humans in general for that matter. The was a kind of neurotic, nervous energy bursting from the young man in front of him. In fact, he looked like his skin was the only thing keeping him from going everywhere at once.

Aidan frowned, looking at him carefully. "Are you alright? You seem a little...frantic." 200 years of observing the world around him had helped him hone in on his people-reading skills and something was definitely not ringing right with this guy. He was acting like an addict coming down from a high but Aidan couldn't smell any drugs on him. Curiouser and curiouser...

"I'm fine!" The younger man answered a bit too quickly, a flash of panic coloring his face. He doubled over for a split second, one arm wrapped around his middle protectively. He looked like he was about to be sick.

"Are you sure? I mean, I can call someone if you need to-"

"I said I'm fine!" Came the desperate cry and Aidan was taken slightly aback. "I'm sorry...I just...I gotta go!" And with that, the younger man staggered past him and raced into the parking garage, disappearing behind a row of cars and leaving a very confused and troubled Aidan in his wake.

The other man's scent lingered for a few seconds after his departure, hovering in the air like a fog. It seemed vaguely familiar for some reason, something he couldn't place at that moment in time but something he'd definitely experienced before. It was like trying to remember a dream, a memory from a time so far away it was nothing but blurry edges. He frowned, digging into his pocket for his keys and walking out into the parking garage. Something was off about him and now Aidan was intrigued.

He slid into his car, the entire front seat bathed in the silver glow of the full moon beginning to rise just over the tops of the buildings. He figured the best thing to do would be to find the intern in the morning and have an honest to God conversation with him instead of trying to interrogate him in the parking garage again. He didn't even know the younger man's name. It was the only way he'd be getting any answers anytime soon. With a sigh, he shifted into reverse and pulled out of the parking garage, turning onto the main street and driving away from the hospital, his thoughts still lingering on the panicky intern.

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So is it okay? Horrible? Should I continue? Let me know what you think! Reviews are love! :D


	2. Conflict of Interest

**OMG! You guys are soo amazing! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/subscribed/favorited this story! Wow, you guys rock my socks so hard its ridiculous! Thank you! ^_^ Okay, so without further ado, here's chapter two! (I'm a beast at rhyming if you couldn't tell :P)**

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Aidan tried to look like he was busy and not looking for anyone. He buried himself in his charts and paperwork, he did jobs he normally wouldn't, he took out the trash; hell, anything to keep his mind off the intern from yesterday. As much as he tried to tell himself that it was none of his business, he couldn't get the younger man out of his mind.

He'd seen that look before, that overwhelming look of panic and desperation. It was a look he'd been guilty of several times in his long, long life. It was the same look he got when he remembered that he'd alive almost as long as the United States had been a country. It was the same when he remembered that everyone he'd ever known from his previous life, even the great-great-grandchildren of some of his former friends, was dead and he was still stuck in the 28-year-old body he'd died in. It was the same when he realized that he wasn't going to die, just keep going on forever until the sun burned out and even then he'd probably still be there.

He had never seen that look on anyone else's face, especially not an intern who's name he didn't even know. It was troubling and interesting at the same time and Aidan couldn't help but be curious. He hadn't slept last night (not that he really needed to, usually he just went through the motions and managed to doze off for a few minutes here and there), he'd simply gone home and stared at the kitchen table for a good six hours, trying to place the other man's scent from the night before. He recognized the smell of anxiety and the fear, those were pretty normal when you worked at a hospital, but the other was still a mystery. It was nearly on the tip of his tongue, clawing its way through his mind to come out. However, the more he tried to remember it, the harder it seemed to be to grasp that memory and hold onto it until it made sense. He didn't like this feeling.

One of then older nurses, a motherly woman named Sharon, approached him with a fresh stack of papers, smiling almost apologetically at him. Aidan smiled back, trying to put of a face that said he wasn't preoccupied with thoughts of another man, and took the paperwork. He glanced over her shoulder, catching a passing glimpse of the young man from yesterday as he darted through the sliding glass doors and down the hall to one of the nurse's stations. Aidan nearly chased after him but he held himself back. He knew that if he went right now, the minute the younger man got here, it would look like he was waiting for him and Aidan didn't wait for anyone, much less seek them out. No, no he didn't.

So instead of following him and demanding answers right then and there, Aidan pretended not to even notice him, going back to his paperwork and acting like nothing was wrong. Inside he was bursting with questions. He told himself that they'd run into each other eventually (probably more intentionally than he'd admit to anyone who asked) and then he could nonchalantly ask him what the hell was up with last night. Deal.

**OOOOO**

The day passed in a series of blurs: a multiple patient car accident at 11:30, a gun shot wound at 2:45, heart attack at 3:20, and all the while Aidan tried to keep up with his job and act like he wasn't keeping an eye out for the intern. He'd passed him (intentionally) in the hall around noon and nodded at him in what he hoped was a friendly and non-threatening gesture. The younger man looked over his shoulder, certain he was looking at someone else, and when he saw no one behind him, he offered Aidan a shaky smile that didn't reach his eyes. It made the demand for answers that much stronger.

He didn't have to see him to know where he was either which made it that much worse. Being around humans for all these years, especially working at a hospital, Aidan had learned to ignore his sense of smell. The patients and their families all smelled the same, a heavy mix of fear and apprehension shrouded in a mask of false bravery. Some of the doctors and nurse smelled the same as well; I guess realizing a person's life is literally in your hands can put a certain amount of pressure on someone. But the intern was different, he smelled different from anyone else on that floor and it was impossible not to know he was coming. One of the last times he'd passed him in the hall, the smell of despair and desperation was so overwhelming it wad enough to make Aidan dizzy. He decided it was time to make his move.

It was a little after 6:30 when he saw the younger man duck into the restroom at the end of the hall. He waited about thirty seconds before he made his way down the hall, hoping that it didn't look like he was following him. The door swung open with a soft whoosh and he stepped inside, mentally bracing himself for the conversation about to come.

The bathroom was small, two urinals, a stall and a sink but it was big enough that it wouldn't seem strange that two men were in there at once. At least that's what Aidan hoped. He didn't see the younger man when he walked in but the movement behind the door of the stall gave away his position. Aidan paused by the one of the urinals, going through the motions to make it seem like he was taking care of business when in reality he was listening for the other man in the bathroom.

There was a suppressed cough followed by a wretch and the sound of someone's stomach contents being emptied into the bowl. Aidan frowned, leaning around the corner to look at the closed door of the stall. 'Its nothing' he told himself. Interns get sick all the time. The combination of nerves, sleep loss, and horrible cafeteria food usually had them running for the bathroom at one time or another. But this was different and it was doing nothing to ease his mind. He could smell blood coming from that stall. Mixed in with the unmistakable stench of bile, stomach acid, and partially digested food, he could definitely smell blood.

Another wretch and the smell got stronger. Aidan felt his fangs slide out unintentionally and he quickly walked away from the urinal, going instead to the sink and turning on the hot tap. The water burned, the skin on his hands turning a bright pink as he scrubbed them furiously. It helped take his mind off the smell and it helped him forcus on something else. The last thing he needed was for the intern to come out and see him with his fangs protruding from his lips like some kind of made-for-TV vampire in a movie.

He wasn't sure how long he stood at that sink, how long he scrubbed his hands, until the younger man staggered out of the stall and came up beside him. Aidan gave him a half-smile and stepped to the side, allowing him to step up to the sink.

The younger man looked just as disheveled as he had the night before, dark, bruise-like circles under his eyes and his skin drawn tight over the bones of his face. He looked pale and shaky, the pale blue scrubs doing nothing for his complexion, and Aidan tried to mask his look of concern.

"You okay?" He asked finally, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could.

The intern gave him a wide-eyed look and he was instantly reminded why the older nurses called him Bambi. He laughed weakly and nodded his head. "Yeah, just got a bad burger from the cafeteria, you know?" He smiled again, that same watered down expression that didn't reach his eyes and Aidan wanted to throttle the information out of him right then.

Standing this close to him, he could smell the blood all over him even though there wasn't a drop to be seen. Usually he only smelled this on others of his kind but this kid was nothing like him; he could hear his heart beating and the shaky breaths that were being drawn in to calm his roiling stomach. He could still smell the cocktail of emotions that clung to the younger man's skin like a second layer but there was something else, something earthy and primal. He could smell trees and soil, water from a creek and grass. No one in the entire hospital smelled like that. Hell, he hadn't met anyone in the city that smelled like that...

"Hey..." He started, still trying to act like it wasn't as big of a deal as he was making it out to be. "So about last night-"

The younger man visibly flinched and Aidan suddenly regretted asking. "Sorry, I was...having a really bad night last night." The intern said, his voice bitter like "bad night" was the understatement of the century. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"Its fine." Aidan said even though it wasn't. "I was just wondering if-" He was cut off when he cell phone vibrated in his pocket, signaling him that there was an emergency down the hall and he was needed immediately. He wanted to curse the rotten timing, snarl and break the phone in half. Instead, he just glared at the screen and dropped it back in his pocket. "I'm sorry." He said to the intern and he really meant it. "Duty calls."

The younger man nodded and went back to washing his hands, a blank and far off look in his eyes. Aidan considered for a minute not going down the hall, he considered staying in the bathroom and demanding answers from the intern. Instead, he clenched his fist and one pocket and walked out of the bathroom, the door whooshing closed behind him. He could find the intern later and when he did, there had better be some answers.

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**Yay! Okay, so I'm pretty sure nurses don't carry pagers while they're at work (I think its only if they're on call O.o) but I could be wrong :S Anyway, it provided a convenient break in the (not) conversation they were having lol! Hope you all still like it! :D**


	3. I'm Sorry

**You guys are so amazing! Thank you so so much for everyone who keeps reviewing and subscribing/favoriting this story! :D Okay, so this chapter deals with some suicidal themes so if that makes you uncomfortable you may want to turn away now O.o If not then read on my lovelies! ^.^**

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Aidan was fidgety. No, that wasn't quite the right word. He was more antsy than anything. No, that wasn't it either. He was restless? No...fine! Fuck it! He was fidgety! He couldn't help it, he was anxious and tired of waiting for answers and he was just ready for his shift to be over. It was 9:40, his shift should have been over nearly an hour ago but he was still here, finishing rounds and wrapping up the things he hadn't been able to do earlier. Another car accident had come in while he'd been trying to coax information out of the intern and it had taken over three hours to get everyone and everything organized and moved to their appropriate locations. Now that all that was done, he still had a mountain of paperwork to go through and everything he'd been right in the middle of until that point.

He hadn't seen (or smelled) the intern for a those three hours and the longer he went without at least catching a glimpse of him, the more restless he became. He shouldn't care! God, it wasn't like the kid needed a babysitter or a nursemaid! He was a grown man for Christ sake! So why was it that Aidan felt this overwhelming desire to help him? He'd never been this concerned (_obsessed_ his brain added uselessly) with anyone he worked with so why was this...intern any different?

Because _he_was different. Maybe not on the outside but something about him was different and Aidan wouldn't rest until he figured out what it was. That would seem strange to anyone else, a little too interested and just a bit creepy. Aidan didn't care; he was nothing if not persistent and by God he was going to figure out what was up with that kid.

He finished his last chart and dropped it into one of the folders, turning and making a beeline for the closest nurse's station. They were supposed to clock in and out so he would at least be able to see if the intern was still here or not. Shit...it would help if he knew the kid's name...

He came to a stop next to the front desk, a tiny nurse with thick, curly brown hair glancing up at him from behind her glasses. "Aidan." She said, her voice somewhat surprised but still preoccupied with whatever she had been doing on the computer before he arrived.

"Hey." He said, racking his brain for her name. It started with an A...Adrienne? Andrea? Audrey? He shook his head, ignoring name game going on in his brain. "Have you seen the intern around lately?"

(Maybe) Andrea laughed lightly and shook her head. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific, cutie. There's lots of interns in this hospital." With her bright pink scrubs and curly hair, she looked like a character from Annie. Or at the very least Fraggle Rock.

Aidan frowned, figuring he should have clarified to begin with. "Kinda short, big doe-eyes, always kinda looks like someone has a gun barrel shoved into his back?"

"Ohh, you mean Bambi." (Probably) Andrea said, nodding when Aidan nodded. "No, not for a few hours." She looked at the computer screen for a second and shook her head. "It says he's still on the clock but I haven't seen him since about 6 pm."

Aidan wanted to curse and high-five someone at the same time. If he was still on the clock it meant he was still in the hospital but that also meant he could be anywhere. He'd been on this floor all day, he could have easily been called up to another floor or shoved behind a desk to do someone's grunt work. The fact that Aidan could barely smell that strange earthy scent that clung to the younger man like a second skin only helped to strengthen that idea. And with the way things had been going all day, Aidan wasn't sure his patience or his reserve could take it if he didn't get some answers tonight.

"Oh wait!" (More than likely) Andrea said suddenly, her eyes widening behind her glasses. "I saw him go to the elevators about 45 minutes ago, he kinda looked like he was in a rush." She finished with a shrug and Aidan felt something twist in his gut. He couldn't place the feeling or why it made him feel like he wanted to throw up but he knew that he needed to find said intern soon. They were on the ground floor and the elevator meant there was no where for him to go but up.

He said a quick thanks to (Definitely) Andrea and turned on his heel, making a straight shot to the elevator and pressing the button. Another nurse called after him but he ignored her, stepping into the empty car and closing the door. The air smelled like trees and wind and something else. Hopelessness. On a whim, Aidan pushed the button for the top floor, hoping he was wrong but fearing he was probably right.

**OOOOO**

The elevator bounced to a halt at the top floor and Aidan had already pried the doors open by the time the car stopped completely. He stepped out onto the roof, a cool breeze ruffling his scrubs slightly. For a minute he couldn't see anything or anyone, nothing but an empty roof and no sign of the intern he'd been searching for. There was an open helicopter pad in the center of the roof, glowing red lights surrounding it in a large circle all around. Air vents and generator boxes provided good cover for anyone who was trying to hide but Aidan couldn't think of why the kid would be hiding on the roof of all things.

Something caught his attention then, a distant smell that was nearly carried away by the breeze. He stepped out further onto the roof, freezing when his eyes landed on the siloette of someone standing near the ledge of the roof. No, not near the ledge. On the ledge. If Aidan had any reason to breathe, he was pretty sure his breath would have caught in his throat at that moment.

The intern had his back to him, one hand gripping the flag pole to his left, his focus on the street below. It was windy up here, enough to make the flag pole tremble with each gust, and it visibly shook the younger man every time. He didn't seem to care though. He didn't seem to be all that concerned with much of anything other than looking over the edge.

Aidan took a step forward, weighing his options carefully. He could rush forward and tackle him away from the ledge (he was much faster than humans) but the force of the impact could cause a lot of damage to the intern if he wasn't careful. Then again, so could jumping off the roof but he didn't really want to think about that.

He didn't make it very far before the younger man's head snapped around, his large brown eyes leveling on Aidan. The vampire stopped; he was sure he hadn't made any noise, in fact, he was very cognizant of that issue in futile attempt not to startle the precariously perched man on the roof. "Stop!" He shouted, his voice shaking in a mixture of anxiety and fear. He was terrified of being up that ledge so why did it look like he was about to jump? "Stay where you are! D-Don't come any closer!"

Aidan held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender and also to show him that he didn't have anything. "I'm not going to hurt you..." He said evenly, taking a hesitant step forward. "I just want to help."

"Help?" Tears flooded the younger man's eyes and he shook his head violently. "You can't help! There's nothing you can do to help!"

"Okay," Aidan took another step forward. "Look, I know how you feel. I've been in your position before, when you feel like you have no way out? Like the entire world has turned its back on you? But trust me, this isn't the answer. This is a permanent solution to a temporary problem..."

"Tempo-" The younger man didn't finish before he let out a sharp bark of laughter, glaring up at the sky like it had scorned him. "A temporary problem? This isn't a temporary problem! This is a life sentence! Its not something that's just going to go away with counseling!" He voice cracked and now he was shaking but it had nothing to do with the wind or the flagpole. "You don't know anything about me! You have no idea what I'm going through!"

Seeing the frantic look on the intern's face, he tried a different tactic. "Okay, okay, you're right. Then we'll just talk, alright? Nothing wrong with talking, right?" He took another step; the closer he could get to him, the easier it would be to get him off the ledge.

The younger man shook his head, his entire demeanor reading defeat and hopelessness. "Talking won't help...nothing will help..." Then, almost inaudibly, he whispered, "I'm a monster..." Tears were streaming down his face now, splattering in dark blue blotches on his scrubs. He turned his face skyward, glaring at a moon that just a little less than full. "I can't do this anymore...I can't do it..." Then, before Aidan could say anything else, he let go of the flagpole and toppled over the edge of the building.

"Shit!" Aidan heard himself gasp and he was moving before he brain caught up with the motions. In a split second, he'd crossed the roof, nearly tossing himself over the ledge as well, and caught the intern by the back of the shirt.

The intern bounced awkwardly and looked up in startled confusion. Then, realizing he wasn't plummeting to his death anymore, he began to struggle and thrash in Aidan's grip. "Let go of me! Let go!" He growled in a tone that sounded more animal than human. Aidan thought it was just his imagination.

He kept a firm grip on the side of the ledge, his other hand tangled in the younger man's scrubs and he struggled to hang on. Vampire or not, its hard to hang on to someone who's flailing around like a 180 lb fish on the end of hook. "Stop thrashing!" Aidan snarled, his fangs digging into the inside of his lip. He couldn't help it; blood brought them out obviously but strong emotions were the next quickest way to make them appear. And this kid was literally a cesspool of strong emotions right now.

"Let go!" He cried from below again and Aidan ignored him. With a quick burst of strength, he jerked him back over the edge and onto the roof, far enough away from the ledge that he wouldn't try again without having to fight his way past Aidan. Then all hell broke loose. There was a strong and surprisingly painful punch to his jaw that sent him sprawling and Aidan was shocked that anyone other than a vampire had enough strength to punch like that. Most human punches barely even registered on the pain scale for him, let alone enough to knock him off his feet. "Why did you do that!" The intern cried, his voice filled with a mixture of anguish and rage. "Why did you pull me back!"

Aidan was on his feet then, easily dodging another punch (he wasn't up for that again) and catching the younger man's arm, pinning it to his side effortlessly. The younger man lashed out with the other arm, which Aidan managed to catch as well. He struggled violently in the vice-like grip, fighting tooth and nail to get free, and it reminded Aidan of a caged animal that was willing to chew off its own leg in order to get loose. Hell, he was pretty sure the intern would try to chew his arm off if given the opportunity.

"You should have let me go! You should have let me fall!" The younger man cried, still fighting against him with almost inhuman strength. Aidan could keep him pinned for now but it was getting harder to maintain his grip so he did the next best thing. He sat down suddenly, catching the intern off guard and dropping them both to the ground. The distraction was just enough and he managed to loop his arms around the wirey young man, pinning his arms to his sides and effectly cutting off his movement.

The intern made some kind of horrible sound, somewhere between a sob and a scream, and Aidan felt his stomach wrench. He didn't know him, didn't even know his name, but something about the young man in his arms reminded him so much of himself that it shook him to his core.

"Why did you pull me back?" The younger man sobbed, all the fight leaving his body and leaving him shaking and breathless in Aidan's arms. "Why couldn't you just let me die...I'm a monster...Why did you pull me back..." He didn't struggle anymore, he didn't try to break free, he just sat there and cried like there was literally nothing in the entire world to live for.

That sick feeling in his gut twisted again and Aidan shook his head, loosening his arms just enough that the hold resembled a hug rather than a death grip. He refused to let go, not if it gave the crying, trembling young man in his arms another chance to jump, but he couldn't stand the cries either. "I'm sorry." He breathed and he meant it; it was the second time that day he'd apologized to the younger man and actually meant the apology. Most of the time he would apologize and the words would fall from his mouth meaningless and hollow. But he meant it with the intern.

"I'm so sorry..." He didn't know what he was apologizing for now but it seemed like the appropriate thing to say. He wasn't sorry for saving him, he was sorry for whatever had driven him to this point. He was sorry for whoever or whatever had driven this young man up onto fifth story of hospital and made him feel like there was no way out other than to jump. He was sorry because he'd lost count of how many times he felt like that himself. He was sorry because, in some pathetic kind of way, he wished someone had said they were sorry when they made him. "I'm sorry..."

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**Poor thing :( There will be lots of talking (and answers for Aidan's sake lol!) the next chapter so be prepared! Loves! :D**


	4. Background Check

**Hey guys! Thank you all so much for all the amazing reviews! I hope I can continue to deliver! ^.^ Okay, so there's A LOT of dialogue in this chapter and while it may seem a bit OOC for Josh to open up this much, I just looked at like maybe he realizes something is different about Aidan too and he feels more comfortable talking to him about this O.o Anyway, hope you all enjoy it! :D**

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It took 20 minutes for the intern to stop crying and another 20 minutes for Aidan to convince him to get off the roof. All the fight had left him now and he allowed Aidan bonelessly drag him into a standing position and lead him toward the door and the elevators. Aidan half expected him to make a break for it, run back toward the ledge and try again. But he didn't, he let Aidan lead him into the elevator and stayed perfectly still as the doors closed and the car began to slowly descend.

Aidan stole a few glances at him but didn't say anything. The younger man's eyes were red-rimmed from crying and even though he was standing at his full height, he still looked like he was trying to curl in on himself like a puppy that had just been scolded. He offhandedly wondered where all the animal references kept coming from but didn't linger on it for longer than necessary.

The elevator reached the ground floor and they both stepped out, Aidan's hand planted firmly but gently in the middle of the intern's back. He didn't like the fact that he could make out the sharp protrusions of his shoulder blades and could probably count all the ribs in his back either. He was still ready in case the younger man tried to run but he didn't, he just continued to walk in whatever direction Aidan directed him in. The emotional strain and the crash from the adrenaline rush had left him docile and easier to manage and Aidan was pretty sure that if even his did try to run again, it would be a pretty quick take down. Still, he wasn't taking any chances. He ignored the concerned and confused looks of the other nurses on their floor and walked both he and the intern to parking garage.

"Where's your car?" Aidan asked finally, his voice echoing off the walls and making the question sound louder than it was.

There was a brief silence before the younger man shook his head. "I don't have a car. I usually take the bus to work."

Aidan nodded slightly. "Okay, I'll drive you then."

"It's fine, you don't have to do that."

Aidan ignored him and led him through one of the rows of cars, finding his and unlocking the passenger side door. He pushed the pile of books and papers occupying the seat onto the floor and motioned for the other man to get in. Seeing his wary look, Aidan sighed and shook his head. "I'm just giving you a ride."

The intern hesitated for a second more, looking between Aidan and the car like he was trying to determine whether or not it was a trap. Finally, his shoulders slumped and he slid into the car, leaning back in the front seat and staring blankly at the windshield. Aidan walked around to the other side, sliding in beside him and cranking the engine.

"I live in a boarding house off Dorsett Street." The younger man volunteered and Aidan nodded, pulling out of his parking space and driving toward the exit. "Just take a right at the entrance." His passenger supplied as they pulled to a stop next to the Stop sign at the corner of the parking garage. Aidan considered his options briefly before turning left and driving in the complete opposite direction.

The intern visibly tensed, his back going rigid and his eyes widening and Aidan would have laughed had it not been so serious. "Relax kid, I'm not going to do anything to you."

"Then where are we going?" The question was sharp, like a verbal slap, and Aidan cocked an eyebrow.

"There's a diner up the street. I'm taking you to get something to eat; you look like you haven't had a decent meal in over a week." He chose to leave out the fact that, even with vampire strength, the other man had still be way too easy for him to pick up. He was too light and judging from him vomitting earlier in the day, Aidan was pretty sure he hadn't eaten anything else.

There was a sharp bark of laughter from his passenger like the very idea of a decent meal was funny to him. Aidan vaguely wondered what was amusing.

The younger man still looked uncomfortable, sinking down in the seat as far as humanly possible. "I'm not hungry."

"Then we'll get coffee. Either way, I'm not leaving you alone right now. I don't trust you not try and take another header off the next tallest building you come across."

That shut him up. The intern flinched slightly and fell back against the seat, giving him the silent treatment once more. Aidan didn't care,he was getting answers tonight if it killed him.

**OOOOO**

There was a little diner about two blocks away from the hospital called Martha's. It had been built back in the 80's but they had tried to maintain the whole 50's diner theme in an effort to draw in more customers. The food was good (or so he was told) and the prices were reasonable so most of the staff of the hospital ate there on a pretty regular basis. It seemed like the appropriate place to go.

Aidan pulled into an empty parking spot and slid out of the car, watching as the younger man followed his example. It made things easier; he was wondering if he was going to have to physically drag him out of the car to go inside. It wasn't outside the realms of possibility and Aidan was more than willing to do just that if it came down to it.

They walked inside and were seated at a booth near the windows. It was late but the Saturday night crowd, either on their way to or from a bar, was scattered across the restaurant at tables and booths. At least they could talk without feeling like they were the only ones there.

Aidan watched the younger man from across the table once they sat down, the way he looked everywhere but at him, the way he drummed his fingers restlessly against the table, the way he looked like he would rather be getting a root canal than sitting here right now. It was going to be a long night.

An older woman with a thick white bun on top of her head and name tag that read 'Betty' appeared next to their table, smiling warmly at them. "Hello boys, what can I get for you?"

"Just coffee for me." Aidan said, flashing her a winning smile that always worked on the female nurses at the hospital.

She smiled back and wrote it down, turning to the intern. "How about for you, hon?"

The younger man started to open his mouth but Aidan cut him off. "He'll have a double cheeseburger and a large order of fries."

The intern went wide-eyed again and before he could say anything, the woman had already written down the order and walked off. "The hell-?"

"Sorry, I knew you weren't going to order anything so I took the liberty for you." Aidan winked at him and he was pretty sure that if they weren't in a crowded restaurant, the younger man would have taken another swing at him.

Betty appeared again a few seconds later with a mug of coffee for him and two glasses of water. Once she'd walked away again, Aidan grabbed a handful of sugar packets and began emptying them into the mug one at a time.

"Dude..." The younger man muttered from across the table, watching the process in a mix of fascination and disgust. "Try some coffee with your sugar."

"Its the only way to make it taste halfway decent." Aidan said, not bothering to look up from his cup. He knew the coffee tasted like hot dish water with nothing in it, the sugar just made it a bit more bearable. After the sixth packet, he sat back and looked at the younger man. "So...you want to tell me what that was about?" The pained look on the intern's face made it clear that he didn't need to elaborate any further.

"It's nothing."

Aidan had to sit on his hands to keep from reaching across the table and throttling him. "Nothing? Last I checked 'nothing' didn't drive people to base jump off the roof of a hospital without a parachute." Upon receiving no answer, he sighed, deciding to change his tactic. "Look kid-"

"Would you stop calling me 'kid'?" The intern snapped suddenly, glaring at him. "My name is Josh, not 'kid.' Jeez, I'm only, like, two years younger than you." He grumbled, looking away.

_More like two hundred. Oh snap! _Aidan kept that to himself. "Okay, Josh. Listen, I'm all for dealing with things in your own way but this is not really one of the methods of choice. So I'm giving you the option: you can talk to me or you can talk to the hospital psychiatrist and I'm pretty sure he would be less understanding than I am about you trying to throw yourself off the roof."

There was a heavy pause and a shaky breath and Josh shook his head. "You won't believe me...you're going to think I'm insane. Shit, _I_ think I'm insane..."

Aidan could understand; there had been so many times when he was first turned when he wanted to talk to someone, just to get some of the burden off his chest, but he knew no one would understand. How could they? "Josh, listen to me. No matter how insane you think you are, no matter how bizarre or strange or unbelievable you think you sound, I will not think you're crazy. Okay?"

Another heavy pause and Aidan wondered if he was ever going to get any answers out of him. Finally, Josh sighed and fell back against the booth. He refused to look at him, concentrating his attention on the table and everything but the dark eyes that were leveled on him. "Do you believe in monsters?" His voice was so soft Aidan barely heard it beneath the buzz of conversation around them. He did hear it though and it made his skin crawl. It was uncomfortably similar to what Bishop had said to him the night he was created.

"Yes." He heard himself answer and his own voice sounded far away.

"Well I didn't." Josh answered quickly, glaring at the silverware on the table. "I mean I'm sure I did when I was, like, five but not now. Not for a long time."

Aidan waited for him to continue; he didn't want to push him for fear that Josh would shut down all together.

It took a few minutes, like the younger man was wrestling with something vicious and internal. "A friend and I went camping about a year ago... He had just finished law school and I was nearly done with my own classes so we decided to go up into the mountains for the weekend, get away from school and work and life, you know?" He reached for the water glass and took a quick drink; it seemed to steady his nerves a bit. "So anyway," He cleared his throat. "We left and got up to the trail we wanted and this Park Ranger stops us to warn us that there had been reports of bears or mountain lions in the area. Lots of animals being slaughtered and campsites destroyed." He waved his hand a bit like he was shooing away an insect. "We didn't even think twice about it and started off on the trail."

"Michael felt something was off before I did, he kept saying it felt like something was following us, watching us. I just thought he was being paranoid." Josh laughed humorlessly and looked down at the table. "I figured he was just on edge because of what the Ranger said so I ignored it."

"When we stopped to set up camp, Michael kept looking around into the trees, tensing at every sound. He suggested we head back but since it was already night fall, there wasn't a lot we could do. I told him we should stay until morning and if he was still worried about it we could head back."

Josh faded off then, his face a mask of conflicting emotions. Tears flooded his eyes and he tried to blink them away. "I woke up later that night to Michael screaming. There was something in our camp, something had him pinned and ripping at him like he was just a piece of meat." The tears did fall then, splattering on his scrubs like they had before, and he shook his head. "I don't know what it was. It wasn't a bear but it was bigger than any mountain lion or cougar I'd ever seen...it was like a gigantic wolf..." He paused probably waiting to seen if Aidan burst out laughing or reached for his phone to call the nearest psychiatric clinic.

Aidan didn't do either, he was struck by the sudden realization of what he'd been smelling on the younger man since yesterday. He'd experienced it once before, almost 80 years ago in France. There had been a man in a bar, a wild, feral air about him, and he had smelled the exact same way. He smelled like a wolf.

"...the gun and managed to shoot it in the leg before it knocked it away from me." Aidan was pulled from his reverie as Josh continued with his story. "When it tackled me, I was sure I was going to die...it was like being hit by an 18-wheeler. But then it just left. It just ran off into the trees like nothing had happened." Josh hesitated for a second before continuing, his voice rough around the edges. "Michael was already dead and I was left with this." He pushed the collar of his scrubs aside slightly to show the edges of thick, white scars curling up over his collarbone and onto his shoulder. Aidan wasn't sure how far the scars disappeared below the scrubs.

"The Ranger had decided to come look for us on a whim, he called it a hunch." There was another humorless laugh, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "They said it was a miracle I survived, that if they had found me half an hour later I would have bled to death...some miracle..." His voice dropped when the waitress appeared once more, a plate full of food in one hand and pot of coffee in the other.

"You boys doin' alright?" She asked, her eyes drifting between Josh's tear-spattered scrubs and Aidan's rigid demeanor.

Aidan smiled at her like before and nodded. "Yes ma'am. Just a rough day at work, you know?"

Betty smiled back at him and nodded. "Trust me, honey, I know what you mean." She said before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Once she was gone, Aidan looked back at Josh, hoping the interruption hadn't broken the story completely. Josh wasn't looking at him though, he was gazing at the plate longingly like it was most incredible meal he'd ever seen. "You can eat you know." Aidan said finally, breaking his death glare at the plate.

Josh shook his head, glancing at it once more, and sat back. "Nothing seemed strange at first...I had terrible nightmares and insomnia that would last for weeks. I didn't have an appetite because every time I started to eat, I pictured Michael, dead and gutted in that forest like he had been a big game prize." He allowed one hand to drift to the plate, plucking a french fry from the edge and twirling it absently between his fingers. "All the doctors called it PTSD...they put me on all kinds of drugs and anti-depressants and sent me to a counselor who specialized in trauma like what I'd experienced...but none of it helped. I still saw that...thing...attacking us every night when I feel asleep...I still saw Michael with his chest ripped open and blood all over his face...I saw it every night, replaying constantly in my head like it was movie and I couldn't find the stop button. I lost 30 pounds and nearly ended up in the hospital for exhaustion before it was all over with..."

Aidan could sense the lingering end to that sentence, something Josh wasn't about to give up without encouragement. "But...?"

Josh looked at him then, met his eyes for the first time in about an hour, and Aidan was nearly startled by them. "Then one day everything just kind of...snapped. It was like a puzzle piece snapping back into place. I could sleep without nightmares and I felt better than I had in months. I felt stronger, more confident, it was like nothing had ever happened. And I was hungry. All. The. Time." He dropped the french fry, reaching for the water glass and just wrapping his hand around it. He made no effort to lift it, he just held it there like he was the only thing keeping it on the table. "Deep down I think I knew something was wrong, people don't get over traumatic events like that over night, but at the time I was so relieved to be over it...even if it was just for a little while...that I didn't even question it."

He lifted the water glass then, taking a long drink before setting it back down. "That's when I started having black outs." He said after a second, looking up and catching eyes with Aidan again. "Nothing too bad at first...I would wake up in the living room or standing on the front porch. But then it got worse and I started get further from home...I woke up in a park one morning a block away. I tried to change the locks, set up an alarm system that would go off if the front door was opened but I always managed to get outside somehow...I don't know, I crawled through the window or something..." He shrugged helplessly before continuing. "Then one day, I woke up in this wooded area near the edge of town and I was..." He stopped, fidgeting with the silverware nervously.

Aidan resisted the urge to reach out and touch him. "Josh, its okay, you can tell me." He said, hoping his voice conveyed enough encouragement and support for him to continue.

Josh still looked hesitant and Aidan could hear his heart beat quicken from across the table. "I woke up and I was eating a possum..." Aidan blinked and Josh looked like he was ready to throw up again. "I mean, that's disgusting right? Possums are filthy, disease ridden rodents and I was _eating_ one!" The occupants of the booth behind them looked up slightly but didn't say anything. Josh lowered his voice. "I don't remember any of it, I don't remember how I got there or how long I'd been there. I don't even know how I caught the possum! I'm barely coordinated enough to walk in a straight line on good days let alone catch something that can disappear in sewers."

Aidan thought about pointing out that possums were actually pretty easy to catch (that was a time in his life he didn't like to remember, before he found out he could live off blood bags) but he kept it to himself. "So what did you do?"

"I threw up." Josh said honestly, looking down at the table once more.

Aidan felt a slight twist in his stomach. "So earlier at the hospital..."

Josh nodded, looking like he was about to repeat the action all over the table. "Yeah...I don't know what it was but there was a lot of fur...maybe a rabbit?" He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I cleaned myself up and caught a cab back home but I felt...different. I felt like there was something in me that was trying to claw its way out. As disgusted as I was with the possum, there was this really small, nearly forgotten, primal part of my brain that didn't feel bad about it at all...it felt right."

Aidan understood the feeling. As much as he hated it, as much as it disgusted him and terrified him, there was something deep inside that enjoyed the feeling of tearing into flesh and drinking the blood beneath the surface.

Josh swallowed awkwardly, balancing the fork on its side. "My fiance, Allison, was in the living room when I got back and she started yelling at me, demanding to know where I'd been, but all I could here was this noise in my head, this weird animal noise that was all sex and hunting and power. And I could smell her. I could always smell her perfume but this time I could smell _her. _Her skin, her hair, the soap she'd used to wash her hands, everything. And before I knew it I was on her."

Josh's face turned a brilliant shade of crimson and the tips of his ears were pink. "I wasn't sure what came over me, all I knew was that I wanted her, every inch of her, right that second, so we ended up on the living room floor, ripping each others clothes off and having the most insane sex we'd ever had. It was the most incredible thing I'd ever done in my life and I felt...powerful. I felt like I should have felt like this for years." Josh almost laughed, his face still bright red. Then the smile fell from his face and he shook his head. "But then it all changed...she scratched me and I could smell blood and it was like tunnel vision. Everything faded and all I could smell was the blood and then I was angry...no, not so much angry but I felt savage. I wanted to tear into her, rip her to shreds, and mix the smell of her blood with mine. I wanted to kill her..."

Aidan must have had a shocked expression on his face because Josh glanced over at him and paled. "I didn't kill her...God, I could never kill Allison! I loved her!" He insisted, slamming his fist against the back of the booth with enough force to crack the wood. He looked back, startled, and Aidan was afraid he was going to bolt. "Josh, its okay. I believe you."

The younger man looked unsure, his breathing coming in fast shallow pants. "I ran...I didn't know where I was going so I just ran...I ended up back in that wooded area just as the sun was setting..." His heart was racing now and Aidan fought to keep his fangs from sliding out at the thought of the blood rushing through his veins. "That was the first night I changed...the first night I became a monster..."

The tears were rimming Josh's eyes again and he drummed his fingers on the table in a staccato rhythm. "The first time I changed...I thought I was dying...it felt like every nerve, every muscle, every square inch of me was on fire. I felt my bones shifting and my joints dislocating and I just remember screaming until my vocal chords gave out and it was nothing more than a howl..." Josh grit his teeth, his fist clenched on the table. "I changed into a monster, an abomination to nature...something that should only exist in B-rated horror movies." He was silent for a brief moment while he let the story sink in.

"So the thing that attacked you...?" Aidan already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it out loud.

Josh looked uncomfortable just thinking about it. "A werewolf."

He knew it. He'd remembered that man from the bar all those years ago, how he'd been rattling on about being attacked by a giant dog one day in his fields. No one believed him, he looked like the town drunk, but Aidan knew better. The way he moved, the way he spoke, he was more animal than human. He'd smelled it on him and now he could smell the same thing on Josh. The only difference was that the man had been almost proud of his affliction and Josh didn't want any of it it. Not one bit.

"I tried to kill myself once before..." Josh said suddenly and Aidan found himself jerked back to attention once more. "Right after that night, right after I figured out what I was, I went to the nearest highway and threw myself in front of a bus." Josh looked at him grimly, every emotion visible on his face: anguish, hopelessness, regret, anger, fear. It was so powerful that Aidan almost had to look away. "It didn't kill me; it broke every bone in my body but it didn't kill me. I ended up in a hospital in some nearby city and they said I would never walk again. I walked out of that hospital a week later, completely healed, and the doctors called it a miracle again."

"Apparently, werewolves have super-healing abilities. I knew the roof probably wouldn't kill me...it might just put me out of commission for a bit longer. It causes us to age slower too, I haven't aged since the day I was attacked...I still look exactly fucking the same..."

Aidan could relate, he'd looked the same for over two hundred years. It got old after a while.

"So now I'm stuck as this...thing." The word came out like it was soaked in acid. "Silver bullets don't work either...not that I've tried it but there's been a lot of debunking with that whole myth. It looks pretty on paper and that's about it..." He sighed, every part of him screaming for release, and slumped against the booth again. A long silence fell between them, neither moving or saying anything. Aidan struggled for the right words but nothing seemed to fit.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" Josh asked finally, not daring to look at him. "You think I made all this up as some kind of way to run from my problems. Maybe I am crazy after all..."

Aidan shook his head. "Josh, I don't think you're crazy-"

"How could you not?" Josh cried suddenly, glaring at him. "Some guy sits across from you claiming to be a werewolf and you're totally cool with it? You don't find it strange at all? Well it is strange! It is crazy! Nothing about this is normal!" He was speaking in a hissed whisper now, very aware of the other booths around them. "Everything about this situation screams batshit insane! How can you be so calm about all of it?"

Aidan didn't answer him, didn't say anything for that matter. He just leaned forward and grinned, his eyes shifting to a glassy onyx black and his fangs slipping out in the smile. Josh's eyes widened comically and he sat back so suddenly it shook their entire booth. "Holy shit...!" He breathed and his heart was racing again. Aidan sat back, his eyes going back to normal and his fangs sliding back. "Oh shit...oh shit...oh shit..." Josh was rambling, looking between Aidan and his reflection in the window. "Oh holy shit...you're a-"

"Vampire. Yeah, I wouldn't say that too loud in here." Aidan glanced at the booths and tables around them before looking back at Josh. "Last I checked, a congregation of people like us usually leads to pitchforks and torches." It was a sick, dark joke and neither of them laughed. "So, like I was saying, no matter how crazy you think you sound, I'm pretty sure it won't faze me."

Josh looked at him then, really looked at him, his mouth half-open in a suspended gasp and his eyes wide. "How long have you-? Where did you-? Why do you work at the-? How-?" He mumbled, unable to finish any of the questions without breaking off into another one.

Aidan just shrugged. "Let's just say I've been a vampire for a very long time and the hospital provides me while a quick source of blood bags so I don't have to feed on anyone walking down the street."

Josh looked so stunned Aidan wondered if he's somehow managed to short circuit something in his brain. "So...there's more of you...more like you...?"

It was Aidan's turn to look pained. "Yes, there's a lot of us. Not many in this city, only about a hundred, maybe two, but there's plenty all over the world. And trust me when I say this was not my first choice on how to spend eternity." He added a bit bitterly; even after all these years he was still pissed about his death or lack there of. "I didn't chose this either, I never wanted anything like this. It was great at first, feeling invincible and knowing I would never die, feeling superior to all the humans around me. But as the years wore on and everyone I'd ever known faded and died, I realized how wrong I was. I hated it." It felt strange to say all this to someone else, someone who would listen and not think he was trying to pull a fast one on them. It was...nice.

"How do you do it?" Josh asked quietly, his voice sounding small and far away. "How do you go on like this? I had to give up my family, my fiance, I gave up everything because I was afraid I would hurt them...how do you do it?"

To be honest, Aidan didn't have an answer, nothing concrete and written into law. After a while, he just got used to it. He got used to avoiding personal connections and relationships, he got used to having acquaintances but no real friends, it was just something that had to be done. "It's not easy." He answered honestly. "Its hard as hell sometimes, but I figured I could turn it into something positive, some kind of light at the end of the tunnel, you know?"

Josh nodded hesitantly though he didn't look too sure. "I've worked at a hospital twice." Aidan continued, taking a sip of his now cold coffee. "I worked for an adoption agency for a few years, a nursing home, domestic abuse center, anything where I felt like I could make a difference." He sighed, circling his finger along the rim of the mug. "It's a tough road, I won't lie, but it doesn't have to be all bad."

The younger man watched him for a second before breaking into a soft laugh and the first genuine smile Aidan had seen since he'd met him. "You're so full of shit." He muttered, plucking a french fry from the plate and popping it in his mouth.

Aidan smiled weakly in return and shrugged. "Eh, maybe, but its better than drowning in depression."

Josh smiled again and it almost felt normal to be sitting in this diner in the middle of the night talking about their problems. It felt good to have someone to talk to, someone who understood a bit of what it was like. He'd been alive for much longer than he liked to admit but the need for companionship never died. Talking to Josh had obviously helped him out but it had helped Aidan too. For the first time in a long time, it felt like the burden was just a bit lighter for both of them.

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**Whoo...that took like three days to write O.o Hope you guys liked it! :D More to come soon!**


	5. Home

**Hello my lovelies! Once again, thank you all so much for your amazing reviews! I'm so happy you guys have liked my story so far! Sadly, this will be the last chapter of this story but there are plenty more to come, never fear! Hope you all like it! :D**

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It was well after 2 am by the time Aidan and Josh left the diner. The late night bar crowd had started to spill in through the doors, loud and uncoordinated and obnoxious, and both men figured it was time to take their leave. Besides, Josh had finished everything on his plate and that was all Aidan was really concerned with.

They got back into the car, narrowly avoiding a collision with a Mustang as they pulled out of the parking lot. Josh gasped and Aidan flipped them the universal sign of disgruntled driving before pulling onto the main street and taking a left.

"So...my house is the other way." Josh commented vaguely from the passenger seat, his thumb pointing toward the window uselessly.

"I know."

"And...where are we going?"

Aidan just smirked and kept driving. "Relax, if I haven't done any of the horrible, depraved things you think I'm going to do to you yet, I'm certainly not going to do them now. I'm taking you to my house."

Josh's eyes did that funny bugging thing again and he looked all panicky once more. "You're taking me to your house? Your _lair_? You don't sleep in a coffin do you? Do you turn into a bat? What about sunlight? Oh wait, I've seen you during the day...but what about-"

"Josh." Aidan cut him off before his ramble could continue any further. "Take a breath man. I don't even need to breathe and you're wearing me out..." He caught the other man's eye from the passenger seat and continued. "Look, if you're on the same schedule that I am which, by the way, you are, you're going to have to be up in five hours to be back at work. My house is closer and I have a car which prevents you from waking up at five and bus hopping for two hours just to get to the parking lot of the hospital. So I'm taking you to my apartment and letting you stay there for the night and I can give us a ride in the morning. Alright?"

Josh looked uncomfortable. "That's really not necessary. I mean really. I appreciate everything you've done for me and if you're worried I'm going to try to off myself again, I'm not. Besides, I have this routine I have to go through and its completely awkward to go through it at someone else's house and-"

"Josh, shut up."

The younger man stopped talking then and went into sulk mode for a few minutes. Aidan suppressed a smirk; if he didn't look so much like a little kid when he did that, he might have been more irritated with Josh.

"Yeah, well, having a big gay slumber party with a vampire wasn't really part of my itinerary tonight..." Josh muttered from the passenger seat, his arms crossed over his chest protectively.

"No, your itinerary read: Step 1) Go to roof. Step 2) Jump off of roof. Step 3) Wait to die." Josh flinched and Aidan copied the motion; that sounded harsh even coming from him. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to keep bringing that up." Seeing Josh relax a bit against the seat, he continued. "And besides, you're not my type so you don't really have to worry about the "big gay slumber party" part of that."

"What, you mean me being a werewolf or me having a penis?"

Aidan smirked. "Both. And I'm not going to try to bite you either, werewolf blood kind of tastes the way a wet dog smells."

"Gee, thanks."

"Just trying to help."

**OOOOO**

The street Aidan lived on was dark and quiet this time of night, nothing but the street lights and few stray cats darting here and there giving any indication of life. He pulled into a small driveway beside the complex and parked, getting out of the car and waiting for Josh to do the same. Once he was sure his werewolf companion was following him, he led him to a corner building at the edge of the parking lot.

He shouldered the door open and stepped inside, flicking on the living room light as he did. The house had a very mechanical feel to it with bare walls and a nearly empty living room. There was a couch and a television along with a lone coffee table in the middle of the room but that was it. It had all the elements of a living room but it didn't look like anyone lived in the house at all. Which was kind of true.

"Wow..." Josh mumbled as he stepped into the room. "I'm OCD in a bad way but even my room looks a bit messier than this..."

Aidan just shrugged. "I'm never really here and its not like I have tons of guests coming and going so I never really bothered to decorate. Usually if I have a date, we end up going to her place instead."

Josh walked through the living room, glancing at the couch and the TV before stepping into the kitchen. It was spotless, the floor was completely clean and it looked like it had never been used. The only indication it had was a bloody coffee mug in the sink. Josh was suddenly very sure he didn't want to look in the refrigerator.

"So yeah," Aidan said from the living room, gesturing a bit with his hands. "This is my apartment in all of its amazing glory."

Josh laughed weakly and nodded. "At least you have an apartment." He commented, walking back into the living room. "I'm still trying to save up enough money for a deposit on one."

Aidan nodded, closing the door behind him and forcing himself to remember to lock it. He usually never locked the door; being a vampire and all, a break in is kind of the last of your worries. But having someone else here, someone that could be hurt by someone bursting in with a gun, it made him reconsider leaving the door unlocked. "Well, you're welcome to take the couch or I have a bed in the other room you can use."

Josh made a face halfway between a smirk and a frown. "Dude, its our first date. I'm not getting in bed with you that soon."

The older man smirked in return and shrugged. "Hey, all I'm saying the bed is more comfortable than the couch-"

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

"-And its not like I really sleep anyway. The bed is a formality more than anything else." Another half-hearted shrug. "Usually I just stare at the ceiling until morning."

"Wow, and I thought I had rough nights." Josh flopped on the couch with a muffled thump. "I'll take the couch, its okay..." He seemed to hesitate about something, his fingers absently drumming on the tops of his legs.

"What's wrong?"

Josh hesitated for a second before looking down at himself. "Um...I'm kinda dirty...you know, from the day..."

Aidan nodded and motioned toward the hallway. "There's a shower at the end of the hall and I think I have a spare set of scrubs that will probably fit you."

For a second it looked like Josh was going to protest again but instead he just nodded slightly and stood, walking down the hall to the bathroom and flicking on the light. "Hey, you actually have shampoo, I'm surprised."

Aidan just rolled his eyes. "Yes, I have shampoo. Believe it or not, I do take showers like a normal person. I just don't eat or sleep."

"Super normal." Josh stumbled a bit when a towel pegged him the back of the head. "Sorry, sorry...I'm just trying to get over being in another dude's house, a vampire's house for that matter..."

"Well, I've never really had a werewolf stay the night with me either if it makes you feel any better."

Josh considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah, not really..."

The door closed and Aidan could hear the shower turning on. It was odd having someone in his house, someone he wasn't planning on sleeping with. He'd had a few girls come over here and there but preferred their houses to his. His house was just that, a house. It wasn't a home and it never would be. It had been a long time since anywhere had felt like a real home. He'd been all over the world more times than he could remember but nowhere ever felt like home, no _one _ever felt like home. So it was strange that having Josh here made his house feel oddly like a home. Maybe it was because they were both considered non-human but it seemed almost...normal.

The shower shut off and he could hear the younger man moving around behind the door. He'd already retrieved the extra scrubs from his bedroom and knocked on the door lightly.

"Just a sec!" Came the nearly panicked reply.

Aidan resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. "Dude, relax. I have a set of clothes out here for you."

The door opened just a crack the younger man's hand poked out. Aidan considered pulling the clothes out of his reach just to jack with him but decided against it last minute, handing them to him just before the door closed again. There was some muffled movement and a few seconds later, the door opened and Josh stepped out, dressed in the scrubs Aidan had handed him. They were loose, hanging around him like he was just a mannequin that modeled clothing for others. It made him look much smaller than he actually was.

"Thanks." He said, looking down at the scrubs and then back to Aidan. "I'm not really used to wearing someone else's clothes though..."

Aidan smiled and led him back to the living room. "Its just for one day and then you can go back to your weird little OCD ways." He chuckled at the ugly face Josh made and handed him a spare blanket (he had no idea how long he'd had it or even where it came from). "Now go to sleep, we're going to have to get up in about four hours and go back to work."

Josh nodded and padded into the living room, collapsing onto the couch and snuggling down into the cushions. It took just under ten minutes and a few seconds of tossing and turning for him to fall into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Aidan waited until he heard the younger man's breathing even out before he turned and walked into his bedroom, closing the door halfway. He sat on the bed, staring at nothing and listening to the quiet, slow breathing in the other room for close to an hour. Part of him worried that Josh would take off in the middle of the night and he'd never seen him again but the other part of him knew it wouldn't happen.

He laid back, pillowing his head in his arms and stared at the ceiling. His mind replayed the events of the evening over and over like it was a movie and he realized that if he was human he would have been exhausted too. He wasn't sure what drew him to Josh in the first place, curiosity more than anything but maybe it was because he subconsciously knew something was different about him. Maybe he was drawn to him because they were so alike, they were both lost in the human world and in need of something to grasp onto remind them they weren't alone. They needed each other, Josh more so than Aidan, but it was nice to be able to relate to someone that didn't think you were crazy. Aidan had been around for much longer than Josh had but the need for companionship, the sting of loneliness never really faded.

He'd left his family, turned his back on Bishop and the rest of his kind in an attempt to change himself. All they wanted was blood and fear, humans to rule and an endless river of blood to keep them satisfied and for a while that's what Aidan wanted as well. But not now, no anymore. He wanted so much more than that. He wanted to be normal again, as impossible as that may be. Josh was the same, he'd lost his family as well, cut ties with everyone he'd ever known and loved, and wanted nothing more than to be like everyone else. They were alone, cast into this crazy world where nightmares exist and live all around you and it was by luck or fate that they had met the way they did.

Aidan realized he needed Josh just as much as Josh needed him. He also realized he was tired of being alone and that maybe having a real friend in this world, someone he could trust and someone who understood, wouldn't be so outside the realms of possibility anymore. Maybe it was time to stop the loner routine and let someone else in. Listening to the soft breathing in his living room, the mumbled sleep talking that was muffled in the couch cushions, the knowledge that someone else was there, Aidan realized he'd never felt more human in his life.

* * *

**Well, that's it for now! More stories to come with Aidan and Josh soon! ^.^**


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